Basquiat Essay, Research Paper

In the

1980’s art punk movement, the only thing the market liked better than a hot

young artist was a dead hot young artist, and it got one in Jean-Michel Basquiat,

whose working life of about nine years was truncated by a heroin overdose at the

age of twenty-seven. His career, both actual and posthumous, appealed to a

cluster of toxic vulgarities. The artist was"instinctual," someone

outside "mainstream" culture and therefore not to be rated in its

terms: a wild pet for the recently cultivated collector. Jean Michell Basquiat

was indeed a great artist, however he was not meant to be a celebrity. Basquiat,

gave the art world what they most desired, he filled a fetish about the

freshness of youth, blooming among the discos of the East Side scene. Basquiat

also fueled the audience’s goggling appetite for self-destructive talent. This

essay intends to prove that Basquiat did not deserve his celebrity status,

through analysis of his drug addictions, his reckless lifestyle and his

primitive art. Jean-Michel Basquiat lead an incredibly wild life. After his

escape from suburbia into the feverish and frantic world of Soho, New York he

primarily associated with the most renowned artists and celebrities.

Jean-Michel’s life was filled with the gods of monsters of the neo-primitive art

movement, it all seemed so glamourous, he would model for Armani clothes, create

famous art works with Andy Warhol, dance at studio 54 and sleep with Keith

Harring and Maddona. But this is where the illusion ends. Basquiat’s life was

constant turmoil. He was perpetually in a drug induced haze, being addicted to

more drugs than person could possibly invision. At a time he had a live in

errand boy who would do nothing more than hook-up Basquiat with his drug-de

jour. His habit eventually, and inevitably lead to his untimely death at the age

of 28. While alive Jean-Michel was incredibly licentious, a bisexual

artist/model/musician with a taste for every form of carnal expression can (as

you might imagine) get into a lot of trouble. He would unabashedly have up to

ten relationships in the air at once and still feel the need to visit

prostitutes and mistresses. In life Basquiat contracted numerous venereal

diseases and was the very epitome of sexually irresponsibility. Basquiat’s art

mirrored his life. His paintings held bold strokes of beautiful colours over

shoddy canvass painted with fury and distemper. While some may argue that the

paintings of Jean-Michel Basquiat are deceptively simple many say they are

sloppy works covered in irreverent text and portraits that any grade one student

could imitate and improve. Basquiat would spin out art without paying any

attention or care to the final product. However it is a difficult thing to prove

anti-art, because of the fact that art is so personal and individually

interpreted.

Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art